In data storage systems space is allocated for storing a primary set of user data. Additional storage space is allocated for providing data protection for the primary set of data. For example, data protection can include generating a backup copy of the primary data. The backup copy provides protection against data loss in the event of primary data failure.
In geographically distributed data storage systems such as “cloud” storage systems, data protection can include replication to generate copies of primary and backup data and stored independently to provide additional protection. As distributed data storage systems grow in size (e.g. hundreds of zones and clusters), there is a need to balance data storage between various zones. Current systems often rely on an external (relative to the distributed data storage system) load balancer. Load balancers, however, often affect write performance when redirecting traffic (e.g. from local zones to remote zones). Accordingly, there is a continued need to provide efficient mechanisms for load balancing in large-scale geographically distributed data storage systems.